Absa Bank Ghana has announced a GHS2.5m grant to support businesses in the Fintech and Agritech industry. The initiative is part of the Absa Young Africa Works programme, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, which is designed to build the capacity of 5,000 SMES and create 50,000 jobs for the youth in Ghana in the next five years.
The GHS2.5m grant will primarily target businesses that are either at their
ideation or up-scaling stage, including businesses using technology to improve
financial services like lending, payments, insurance, investments, and
education (financial literacy). Successful businesses must be more than three
years old, tech savvy and with owners who are between 24 – 40 years old.
The grant also compliments Absa Bank’s bouquet of products and services
tailored to provide comprehensive support for startups and SMEs, including free
banking services, collateral-free loans for SMEs and capacity-building
programmes.
Commenting on the initiative, Managing Principal of Retail and Business Banking
(RBB) at Absa Bank, Kobla Nyaletey said: “Absa Bank Ghana is a strong believer
in the potential of Ghanaian businesses, including startups, SMEs and large
local corporates, to drive sustainable economic growth. We consider it an
important social obligation to support and provide the type of capital
appropriate for these businesses. I am extremely happy that together with
the Mastercard Foundation, we can deploy GHS2.5m to strongly push forward young
businesses using technology to solve the challenges that confront our economy.
We are determined to continuously create solutions and products that bring the
possibilities of our customers, clients, and stakeholders to life in a
sustainable way and this is one of them.”
To apply for the grant, businesses have to visit the Absa Bank Ghana website
and submit their proposals. Successful businesses will not only have access to
GHS200,000 each but will also enjoy training, business development and advisory
services from Absa Bank and the Mastercard Foundation.
Source:
Peacefmonline.com/Ghana